The Hook

Edwin Huang stood outside his quiet Richmond home yesterday nearly speechless as he processed the scene that had just unfolded.

Half an hour earlier, Prime Minister Stephen Harper - channelling the neighbourly Mr. Rogers in a soft blue sweater - was sitting at the dinner table with his family while the nation's media jockeyed for a shot.

The same horde then trampled Huang's tidy green lawn as Harper pandered to middle-class families with talk of tax cuts, child benefits and fiscal responsibility.

And in the blink of an eye, the frenzied pack disappeared; following the PM to the next stop on his election campaign.

"It's amazing, I couldn't believe it," said Huang, a father of two. "[Harper] is very kind, he's a very nice person."

But despite the Conservative leader's dressed-down appearance, SFU marketing professor Lindsay Meredith said it was anything but a casual visit.

"He's going after the ethnic vote, no question," Meredith told 24 hours.

Meredith said Harper's trip to Richmond - his second stop on the campaign trail since a federal election was called for Oct. 14 - "fits beautifully" with his strategy to attract immigrant and middle-class votes.

But it also points to the province's growing importance on the national stage.

"B.C. can't be ignored anymore," Meredith said. "[Harper] sees a lot of votes in this province."

Matt Kieltyka reports for 24 hours.